5 Tips to Launch a New Soft Drink Which Stands Out
Beginning any new business needs financial planning, an effective marketing strategy, and a whole lot of work. That’s for a standard business. When it comes to launching a drinks brand, however, there’s even more you have to take into consideration.
Certification, safety, labeling, developing a product that appeals both aesthetically and in taste – the list goes on and on. With so much to think about, it can be difficult to know where to start if you want to create a soft drink. That’s where this article is here to help.
While there’s too much to cover for a comprehensive guide, below are a few helpful tips for launching a new soft drink that stands out.
1. Distinctive and memorable branding
If you want to stand out, you need great branding. That much is clear. If your soft drink sits on supermarket shelves with dull and generic packaging, it has no chance of competing with the bright, vibrant options in the same section.
As a result, you have to invest a lot of time and effort into branding which is original and eye-catching. Along with a high-quality logo and a distinctive color scheme, think about the shape of your drink’s packaging. Will it be in a regular bottle or a can? Or will you try and deviate from the standard formula and come up with a unique packaging shape? If you go with the latter, just consider how the drink will fit on shelves, in vending machines, and so on.
The good news is it’s easy to find and enlist the services of a professional freelance designer or agency.
2. Focus on flavor
Yes, branding plays an integral role in capturing the attention of customers. Yet once you have that attention, you don’t want to lose it. The main way of doing this is by producing a high-quality beverage they’ll want to enjoy again and again.
It’s an obvious point, admittedly, but you want a delicious drink which is full of flavor. This means you need to spend a lot of time researching and fine-tuning the production of your beverage. This includes testing countless combinations of ingredients, where you also have to find the perfect balance in terms of volume. You will also have to take the time to work out the density of the drink, but this can be done with ease via the GIGA Calculator to calculate the density. This aspect is one you should never rush. Even if it takes months to come up with the perfect formula, that’s the amount of time you need to spend on it.
3. Do your research
You cannot target the world with your drink. While it would be nice to have a universal hit like Coca-Cola, your beverage would quickly get lost among the competition if you go with a general flavor profile. It makes a lot more sense to produce a drink that is distinctive and targeted towards a specific market.
Before you do this, however, it is vital you produce a clear profile of your ideal customer and what they seek from your drink. This means that, rather than going with generalizations and guesswork, you are making decisions for your drink and brand based on evidence. The importance of this cannot be overlooked because retailers will want to see proof there’s a demand for your soft drink.
4. Put together a marketing plan
A strong brand is only the start. You need to put together a comprehensive marketing plan for your soft drink. By raising awareness for your brand, you can establish relationships with your potential customers – demonstrating to retailers there’s an interest around your product, and you can drive your own sales.
With such a strong emphasis on internet marketing, this is where you should begin with your promotional efforts. This means creating a professional website, setting up social media profiles, running ads, and so on. As you’re selling a drink, you’ll also want to head to trade shows and food fairs to let people directly sample your product.
5. Consider distribution channels
You might be selling directly to customers through your website or at fairs, but you should also take the time to consider which distribution channels you’d like to utilize in the future. If you go with a wholesale distributor, for example, you will have to factor in the additional cost this will incur. As a result, you have to account for this when coming up with the pricing for your soft drink.
Category: Business and Politics
